Monterey murder suspect Joshua Claypole on life support after suicide try

The man accused of stabbing a Monterey taxi driver to death was clinging to his own life Sunday on life support at San Jose hospital.

The family of Joshua Claypole, 20, of Big Sur was awaiting the arrival of Claypole's father on Monday from Argentina to decide whether to remove the murder suspect from life support, his attorney John Klopfenstein said.

"According to the doctor and his mother, it would be a miracle if he recovered, and if he recovered he would be severely handicapped by mental disabilities," Klopfenstein said.

Claypole was taken by air ambulance Saturday afternoon to the San Jose hospital after he apparently attempted suicide in his jail cell. He was discovered in the cell about 2:30 p.m., hanging from a vent by some bedding he had torn, a jail commander said.

His suicide attempt came a day after Claypole made his initial court appearance on murder and carjacking charges.

Claypole was arrested Wednesday after he allegedly murdered taxi driver Daniel Garcia Huerta, 44, of Salinas, a few minutes after Huerta had picked up Claypole at a Carmel shopping center. The attack happened as the taxi stopped at a Monterey car rental lot on Del Monte Avenue.

After allegedly stabbing the taxi driver, Claypole hijacked a nearby pickup but was arrested a short distance away by police in Seaside.

He was described by associates as a talented young man whose life turned darker in recent years as he got into heavier drugs.

"It's a sad situation all around, for everybody," Klopfenstein said.

The attorney said he asked jail officials Wednesday to put Claypole on suicide watch, but a jail physician apparently determined by Friday that the extra precaution was not needed.

On Saturday, jail Cmdr. Jose Mendoza said Claypole was not on suicide watch but was in a single cell because of the charges against him and the notoriety of the case.

A jail sergeant on Sunday referred any inquiries about the case to the District Attorney's Office, whose representatives were unavailable.

The district attorney was called in to investigate the suicide attempt, which the Sheriff's Office had said was standard protocol.

Klopfenstein said Claypole's mother had gone to the jail about 1:30 p.m. Saturday with medication — clonazepam, which is used to treat panic and anxiety — and was told it would be immediately administered to her son.

An hour later, Claypole was found hanging in his cell during what jail officials said was "a routine health and welfare check."

Klopfenstein said his family wonders if Claypole was ever given the medication his mother had brought to the jail.

An inmate on suicide watch probably would be in a padded cell without bedding and wearing a jumpsuit made of paper, the attorney said.

Klopfenstein said Claypole had been arrested the day before the Monterey murder in Redwood City on a charge of driving under the influence.

He said Claypole got back to Monterey County and was trying to return to Redwood City on Wednesday to retrieve his car. He went to a Carmel bank to get some money, and then called for a taxi to take him to a car rental lot.

His mother eventually retrieved her son's car and methamphetamine was found in it, Klopfenstein said.